Risk and Our Fear of Failure
Monday: July 28, 2008 3:25 PM
It was 1973 and I had just got my Evil Knievel jump cycle; the one where you wind the crank, hit the release and watch Evil speed down the hallway toward the makeshift ramp. Soon the sun was up and I wandered past my 3 Speed bike (with banana seat) and the idea hit me. Evil plus Bike plus Towel for a Cape equals Really Cool and I envisioned myself jumping the creek behind our house. It all seemed easy enough; pile up some dirt, get a running start and glory was mine for the taking. I would be the talk of the school come Monday morning. Sixty minutes later, I am in the emergency room watching my dad faint as they set my arm for a cast.
We seem to have an obsession with people that take risks and emerge as winners. We enjoy watching sports where our heroes risk it all. One of the top shows on TV is House where Dr. House seems to risk his patients life every week and we tune routinely. Our business leaders love to quote the risk takers like Welch, Gates, and Jobs and use the analogies to inspire us. Unfortunately, it is "they" that are the ones that take risks. We on the other hand, do everything we can to avoid risks. We buy flood insurance to protect us from the Noah's revenge. We take those extended warranties to assure ourselves that the new Wii will last forever despite that fact that the next big thing is only a few years away. We take our children to the park that is surrounded by fences and six inches of cushion in case they fall off the monkey bars. We chuckle at warning labels that protect us from ourselves like McDonalds warning that the Coffee may be hot or the superhero costume that says that the "Cape does not enable user to fly".
The problem is that life itself is a risk and life rewards the bold. Enterprise 2.0 is about introducing the idea that you are more than a number. I would like to think I am more than just ts1809 to the corporation. We are entering a new era where the knowledge and information is more important than the physical assets the company keeps on the books. And, it’s not just the knowledge but the timeliness and accuracy of that information. The real value of the company is in the ideas, relationships, innovation, and information that is within each and every one of us. What is the risk of commenting on a blog, sharing your knowledge in the corporate wiki, or integrating collaborative technologies within your organization? What's the risk of not doing it? What's the best thing that can happen if I keep my ideas to myself? The greater risk, to the future of this company, is in not implementing Web 2.0 technologies. Like fossil fuels, the gas tank on cost cutting measures is running close to empty. We must move towards an idea based organization where theses ideas flow freely. We have the tools and technology but are we, as individuals, ready to don the cape and jump over the command and control mentality?
It was 1973 and I had just got my Evil Knievel jump cycle; the one where you wind the crank, hit the release and watch Evil speed down the hallway toward the makeshift ramp. Soon the sun was up and I wandered past my 3 Speed bike (with banana seat) and the idea hit me. Evil plus Bike plus Towel for a Cape equals Really Cool and I envisioned myself jumping the creek behind our house. It all seemed easy enough; pile up some dirt, get a running start and glory was mine for the taking. I would be the talk of the school come Monday morning. Sixty minutes later, I am in the emergency room watching my dad faint as they set my arm for a cast.
We seem to have an obsession with people that take risks and emerge as winners. We enjoy watching sports where our heroes risk it all. One of the top shows on TV is House where Dr. House seems to risk his patients life every week and we tune routinely. Our business leaders love to quote the risk takers like Welch, Gates, and Jobs and use the analogies to inspire us. Unfortunately, it is "they" that are the ones that take risks. We on the other hand, do everything we can to avoid risks. We buy flood insurance to protect us from the Noah's revenge. We take those extended warranties to assure ourselves that the new Wii will last forever despite that fact that the next big thing is only a few years away. We take our children to the park that is surrounded by fences and six inches of cushion in case they fall off the monkey bars. We chuckle at warning labels that protect us from ourselves like McDonalds warning that the Coffee may be hot or the superhero costume that says that the "Cape does not enable user to fly".
The problem is that life itself is a risk and life rewards the bold. Enterprise 2.0 is about introducing the idea that you are more than a number. I would like to think I am more than just ts1809 to the corporation. We are entering a new era where the knowledge and information is more important than the physical assets the company keeps on the books. And, it’s not just the knowledge but the timeliness and accuracy of that information. The real value of the company is in the ideas, relationships, innovation, and information that is within each and every one of us. What is the risk of commenting on a blog, sharing your knowledge in the corporate wiki, or integrating collaborative technologies within your organization? What's the risk of not doing it? What's the best thing that can happen if I keep my ideas to myself? The greater risk, to the future of this company, is in not implementing Web 2.0 technologies. Like fossil fuels, the gas tank on cost cutting measures is running close to empty. We must move towards an idea based organization where theses ideas flow freely. We have the tools and technology but are we, as individuals, ready to don the cape and jump over the command and control mentality?
